JESUS SAVES! AND SALVATION FROM SIN IS THE GREATEST GIFT A PERSON CAN RECEIVE FROM THE LORD

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (KJV)

Jesus saves because He is a Person. He is God. He died for you. He shed His blood for your sins. He created you and He came to give meaning to your life.

No matter how hard a person tries to achieve something in life, the life of a person as a whole can never fulfill its appointed purpose, without the person knowing their Creator. He is the one that gave us our life.

Everyone is born in sin. Sin is not only an action that is contrary to given moral standards. Sin is first and foremost a condition in which a person does not know their Creator and thus, is not functioning in the purpose for which they have been created. The Lord has a plan for each person’s life and everybody that strays from that plan and walks in their own ways instead, is missing the purpose for which they had been created. This is sin – to miss God’s will and purpose for your life and walk in your own ways, ignoring your Maker.

Jesus Christ is not a religion! He is not a Church belonging; He is not a doctrine, creed or tradition! He is a Person! He loves you and wants to communicate with you. He longs for your communication.

Surrender your life to Him. There is no other name given to us under Heaven, through which a person can find eternal salvation, satisfaction and purpose in life. The heart of every person longs for Him, whether they realize it or not. There is no substitute that can fill that void – no glory, no power, no riches, no achievements or successes – only the Person of Jesus Christ, Who gave His life, so you can have life. The rightful and deserving punishment for our sins is eternal death, but Jesus came to give eternal life to all who will choose to believe in Him.

All you have to do is to invite Him to come in your life and He will do it. This will be the greatest and most important decision you’ll ever have to take in life. Jesus will come and enter into your heart. That’s why, with your own words, coming out of your heart, please pray with a prayer similar to the following:

Lord Jesus, please come into my heart. I repent for my sins and ask You to forgive me, that I have not known You up until now. I want to live for You. I want to accomplish Your will and purpose in my life. I want to serve You. Please come! Lord Jesus, I believe with my heart that You came to this Earth, died on the Cross for my sins and was raised from the dead on the third day. Thank You for Your love towards me. Thank You God for sending Jesus and thank You that Jesus saves me now! Amen!

If this prayer has come out of your heart with faith, you have just become a member of God’s family, consisting of millions of believers all over the world. Please write to me about this decision of yours, so I can send you free materials to help you continue your newly found life with God. Also, please visit the JESUS Articles, JESUS Walks, Jesus Books & Jesus Pictures sections of this web site to find very informative foundational articles and devotionals on Jesus Christ and Christian life as we are supposed to live it.

And since many people think Christianity is not for the 21st century, please visit a friend of mine’s web site, which proves just the opposite.

Again, I will be more than happy to assist you in every way I can, so please contact me for further information, questions you may have or concerning anything you would like to discuss. You never know – you may have just found yourself a new Bulgarian friend in my face, and same goes for me – I may have just found YOU!

For a Jesus saves comics for kids, please click on Jesus with children comics.

God Bless You Mightily!

Nikola

Jesus Saves! 

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“In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, He began to say unto His disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1; Matthew 16:6; Mark 8:15).

Leaven of course, is a mass of sour dough, which mixed with a larger quantity of dough or paste, produces fermentation in it and leavens it all. The chemical definition of ferment or yeast is: “a substance in a state of putrefaction, the atoms of which are in a continual motion”. In other words, when you put leaven (yeast) in something, it immediately starts an unstoppable process of fermenting it totally. That’s why, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5:6, and in Galatians 5:9 “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”.

Spiritually speaking, when leaven gets in us, it starts the spiritual process of corrupting (fermenting) our inner state, until it ferments all. What leaven does as well, is that it makes the dough raise and become light. In other words, a balloon – e.g. something that’s big on the outside, but has no real substance (besides air) on the inside.

Now Jesus said that the leaven which the devil will use the most to corrupt us and make us like balloon Christians (having a form of Godliness, but lacking the substance of His power) is the leaven of hypocrisy. So, it’s very important for us to define and understand hypocrisy as best as we can, so we can prevent that leaven from “fermenting” us.

Hypocrite is somebody feigning high principles – somebody who gives a false appearance of having admirable principles, beliefs, or feelings. The hypocrite is a charlatan, fraud, phoney, dissembler, double-dealer, pretender, and whited sepulcher. He is insincere, two-faced, duplicitous, deceitful, phoney, and false. The best antonym of hypocritical is genuine and sincere.

Hypocrisy means: insincerity, double standard, pretense, duplicity, two-facedness, and falseness.

The Hebrew word the Bible uses for hypocrisy means: “moral filth, wickedness”. To be a hypocrite according to the Hebrews meant to be soiled with sin, to be impious. Jesus must have used this meaning also, since He was a Hebrew addressing Hebrews. Actually, this Hebrew meaning shows the inner corruptness of the leaven of hypocrisy.

The Greek meaning though, is altogether different. It was a custom for Greek and Roman actors to speak in large masks with mechanical devices for augmenting the force of the voice; hence the word became used metaphorically of “a dissembler, a hypocrite”.

It means: “a stage actor under an assumed character; One who feigns to be what he is not; one who has the form of godliness without the power, or who assumes an appearance of piety and virtue, when he is destitute of true religion; A dissembler in religion; one who assumes a false appearance; one who puts on a mask.

So, hypocrisy in this sense is: acting under a feigned part; that is, (figuratively) deceit (“hypocrisy”); Simulation; a feigning to be what one is not; or dissimulation, a concealment of one’s real character or motives.

More generally, hypocrisy is simulation, or the assuming of a false appearance of virtue or religion; a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion; simulation; deceitful appearance; false pretence. It is a “mouse with a megaphone” thing. It is also:

- Corruption of the character and motive – Self-righteousness Isaiah 65:5; Luke 18:11 – Covetousness Ezekiel 33:31; 2 Peter 2:3 – Regarding tradition more than the Word of God Matthew 15:1-3 – Exactness in minor, but neglect of important duties Matthew 23:23, 24 – Having but a form of godliness 2 Timothy 3:5 – Seeking only outward purity Luke 11:39 – Professing but not practising Ezekiel 33:31, 32; Matthew 23:3; Romans 2:17-23 – Using but lip-worship Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8 – Glorying in appearance only 2 Corinthians 5:12 – Trusting in privileges Jeremiah 7:4; Matthew 3:9- False zeal in the things of God Isaiah 58:2 – Loving pre-eminence Matthew 23:6, 7- Spirit that hinders growth in grace 1 Peter 2:1

Can you see now why it is so important for us to beware of that leaven? Actually, Jesus defined the leaven of hypocrisy best, when He said:

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone… Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity”. (Matthew 23:23, 25-28)

Whitened sepulchers are full of dead men’s bones, and they need the Ezekiel Type of prophetic ministry, so it can prophecy to these bones, so they can shape the form, so that the Spirit can come in it. These people have a calling from God all right, but at the same time they are full of dead bones and they need some kind of resurrection power to give life to them.

And the problem is not so much that there are dead bones in the house, because the Lord can make them live, but the real problem is that we whitewash the tomb on the outside, so nobody could see the dead bones. We try to hide the dead bones even from God. That’s hypocrisy. That’s what Luke 11:44 means also: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them”.

So, hypocrisy is the leaven the devil uses to ferment our spiritual state, but what is the root – why can that leaven come and work successfully in many Christians’ lives (actually, in all Christians’ lives at one time or another)? Only one root reason – PRIDE! Out of it come every hypocritical motives, behavior and actions.

See just some of the areas: Matthew 6:2,5,16; 7:1-5.

And the worst part is that when this deceiving leaven of hypocrisy enters and starts working on the inside of Christians see what happens:

“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, this people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”. (Matthew 15:7-9)

See, a person can be a good Christian, and yet, a deceived one.

Somebody may say that all this hypocrisy stuff refers only to the Pharisees, but if that was true, Jesus would not have warned His disciples (and us indirectly) to beware of it. Apostle Paul also would not have warned the believers in Corinth to beware of it, but he told them that once they let it in, their whole “lump” would become a big “Christian” balloon.

OK, what’s the solution? Only one! Since God is not a religion, but a real Person, we can not go to Him through methods, formulas, masks, faces, games, etc. He already knows what’s in us. Therefore, we should go to Him with a repentant (crushed, humbled, sincere) heart, asking Him (The Person) to cleanse our heart and remove all hypocrisy, so we can be clean vessels that He can use for His Glory. We should really do what Apostle Peter advices us in 1 Peter 2:1-3

“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious”.

Hypocrisy is the thing that “whitens the tomb” of our life, and therefore we don’t allow God to reveal Himself mightily. I said just briefly, that hypocrisy is the leaven the devil uses to ferment our spiritual state, but the root that allows him to leaven many Christians’ lives is: PRIDE!

The Lord also showed me that the antonym of hypocrisy is sincerity and truth. In other words, the way to cure hypocrisy is to walk in sincerity and truth.

OK, but what’s the cure for Pride then, since it’s the root problem of all hypocrisy? One thing and one thing alone: The Glory of God – His Manifested Presence in our life.

Actually, pride means to take the Glory due to God, and put it on ourselves. Because many people try to cure and cover the hypocrisy in their life by trying to walk in sincerity and truth, and by some means of methods, principles, and formulas we can really achieve the walking in sincerity and truth part, but that does not cure the root of pride part, so when the “right” time comes (and usually when we least expect it), satan comes and “sows” the leaven of hypocrisy in our life, because the pride is still there, allowing him to do it. Let me show You what Apostle John said in his Gospel about Jesus:

“And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14)

Please look at this very carefully: When Jesus came, John said what we saw was not His ministry, His power, His strength, etc, but we saw His Glory. And please see this as well: Some people try to walk in sincerity and truth, but here it says that Jesus was full of Grace and truth. You see, the Greek definition and meaning of the word grace as used in the Bible text is: “Divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the whole life”.

We can never walk in sincerity and truth, without the grace of God, which means that He must first intervene in our life and initiate a work in us to enable us to walk in truth. We can not do it by methods, formulas, and good principles alone.

Only His grace can do it. That’s why John put grace before truth. Because there are many people that are not even believers that walk in truth (I mean they are people that love to be truthful), and there are many people that are not even believers and have much wisdom, but look at what Apostle James said about that kind of wisdom also:

“But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:14-17).

See, the wisdom of God is without hypocrisy, which means without pride. The people of the world may have some wisdom, but they boast with it all the time. Our world today worships the “god” of Intellectualism more than any other “god”. In this way they don’t give God the glory for it; they take the glory for themselves. That’s not what we want. We don’t want that kind of walking in truth without the grace of God.

Truth without grace is hypocrisy; Wisdom without grace is hypocrisy; Sincerity without grace is hypocrisy. We really have to allow God to influence our heart and that should be the beginning and the start point of everything that later comes as a reflection of that in our life.

And how do we receive that grace? Please look at what John said again: “and we beheld His glory, full of grace and truth”. In other words, the grace and truth come only after you see and experience the Glory – His Manifested Presence in your life.

Can you see it? He said: We BEHELD His Glory. Whew, whew, whew! I’m so stirred up when I see this. Only the Glory of God can cure the root of pride, because only the Manifested Presence of God brings with itself the grace of God, which is His Divine intervention and influence in our life, which will eventually enable us to walk in sincerity and truth in the right way, without any pride and hypocrisy. Whew!

Now, if the glory is the only cure for pride, how then satan – the originator of pride could originate pride in the manifested presence of the glory of God?

This is a very interesting question, and I want to offer to you an even more interesting interpretation of some Bible texts. The normal interpretations tell that satan was in Heaven, leading the praise and worship to God, and while his was surrounded by the glory of God, the thought came in him, that he could elevate himself above God, and become God himself. I though, do not believe that it is at all possible for such a thought to enter a person’s mind while being in the revealed glory of God.

There is no Bible passage that can show that when a person saw God’s glory, he could even stand on his feet, much less think about anything of the kind of overthrowing Almighty God. Everyone that saw the Glory fell right on his face and started to confess his sins and his uncleanness.

The best example is the Prophet Isaiah. The first 5 chapters of his book, he is boldly prophesying, saying: “Woe unto Judah, Woe unto Jerusalem, Woe unto the wicked, Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter, etc, etc”.

Then in chapter 6, he suddenly saw the Glory of God, and see what is the first thing he said then: “Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts”.

See, the great prophet, truly called and anointed by God, prophesying at God’s command with power and anointing, saw the Glory, and he could do nothing, but be amazed at God’s holiness.

When we experience the glory – God’s Manifested Presence, the first thing we see is His holiness:

“I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His Glory” (Isaiah 6:1-3)

When Moses saw the Glory, it was the same. When Paul saw the Glory on the road to Damascus, it was the same. Even when John was taken by the Spirit to Heaven itself in Revelation and saw the Glory of God upon Jesus, he fell to the ground as a dead man. Even when the Roman soldiers who were absolute unbelievers, saw the Glory in the face of the angel that rolled away the stone from the tomb, they were completely overpowered.

You see, one can not experience the Glory, and even stand on his feet. How can one be in the revealed Glory of God, and think about elevating himself above God? That’s just not possible!

How then satan did it?

I think the key is found in the only two Bible passages that speak about satan thinking these thoughts: Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28.

In Isaiah 14, the Bible says:

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15)

So, obviously when satan entertained the first thoughts about exalting himself above God, he was somewhere beneath the stars, and somewhere beneath the clouds. He was not in Heaven, for Heaven is above the stars, and above the clouds. Besides, what are these nations that he weakened even before we were created? Because, when satan thought of exalting his throne above God, and when he actually tried to do it, and was thrown out of Heaven, Adam and Eve were not yet created.

When he came to them, in the Garden of Eden later, he was already cast out of Heaven, and he was already satan, and not the Morning Star – God’s bright angel. He had already fallen.

So, how do we explain that? With Ezekiel 28:

“Thus saith the Lord God; Thou (satan) sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub (that shows it speaks about satan really, and not some man, because it says cherub) that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground; I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee” (Ezekiel 28:12-18)

See, satan was placed in The Garden of Eden long before Adam and Eve were. he was created by God, and was placed in The Garden of Eden (just as Adam and Eve were later), and he was perfect at the beginning (as Adam and Eve were). Besides that, there were some kind of other creatures that obviously did some merchandise and other stuff (these are the nations that Isaiah 14 talks about also), and satan was in charge of all, including music, since the tabrets and pipes were prepared for him (not in Heaven though, but in the Garden of Eden). These other creatures were obviously created before Adam and Eve were, because satan fell in pride before that.

I know it may sound strange, but that’s what the most renowned theologists say as well. I have done a vast research about these things, so you can rest assured that this is not some kind of heresy I’m introducing, but it’s in total agreement with what the best Biblically scientific researches show.

Of course, I am aware that nobody knows for sure how things were, but let us see what the scenario really seemed to be: satan was created and put in the Graden of Eden to be in charge of some kind of creation (that’s all the Bible says about it, and obviously, God didn’t want us to know anything more than what is enough for us at present). Then, at some point, the thought came to satan, that he could elevate himself above the stars, above the clouds, and above God.

So, obviously he was below all these when the thought came to him. Then he started making conspiracy to the other angels that he was put in charge of (actually, one third of all angels), and when the conspiracy worked, he led this whole host to Heaven to announce his decision to God. That’s when he was cast out of Heaven as the Bible says in many places.

Then God created Adam and Eve, and put them in the same Garden of Eden. Interestingly enough, they fell in pride and sin when God was absent, because the Bible says that some time after they sinned, the Lord came, walking in the Garden.

See, my whole point is that nobody can produce pride in the Manifested Presence of God. Even satan! And if that is true, it really shows us the remedy for pride – the Glory of God.

Somebody may say: “But we can not walk in the Glory all the time”.

Is that true? When the devil (then called the Morning Star), fell and when Adam fell, God sent another Bright and Morning star (Revelation 22:16) – another Adam – JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF (the One John said was full of GLORY; full of grace and truth, because God’s Manifested Presence was in and upon Him), to see whether He’ll be able to defeat that pride thing at last. Do you think He succeeded?

Definitely! He was tempted to walk in pride, but no – instead, He did the contrary – He dismantled Himself of all His Kingly Majesty in Heaven to come down to the Earth to the ones that have fallen; He clothed Himself in human flesh, and He let that flesh be the temple of the Lord Most High, to show us that we could do it as well.

He called Himself The Son of Man, and after He gained the total victory over satan and pride on the Cross, the Bible says:

“Know you not, that you are the Temple of God?”

Can you imagine the privilege God gives to us? The temple is the place where God’s Glory should dwell all the time. That’s the Purpose of the Temple anyway. Yet, satan has managed to sow the leaven of hypocrisy, because of the pride in us.

Now, when people hear about the Glory, usually they think it’s all about seeing God with our physical eyes, experiencing Him the way Moses experienced Him on the mountain, or like Isaiah experienced Him, or like Ezekiel or some other. So, they think that is something impossible to long for and that’s why they disregard it immediately.

Of course, all these Glory experiences are wonderful and something to be desired with all of our hearts. They are also something absolutely possible for us to experience based on God’s Sovereignty and our spiritual hunger. Let me submit to you though, that the Lord has prepared not only that for us, but something even greater – something for which all the Old Testament Prophets longed for and prophesied about. That’s the ALL TIME MANIFESTED PRESENCE OF GOD in our own hearts through the Person of the Holy Spirit. He was God’s Manifested Presence in the life of Jesus Christ our Lord and now He has been sent by the Father to be the same for us. That’s why He is called: The Spirit of Glory (Romans 6:4; 1 Peter 4:14).

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We have an enemy of course, called the devil, who uses human vessels to issue unrighteous laws that hinder God’s Kingdom and His Church from advancing forward. God’s people react to this in 4 different ways:

1st – There are those that don’t believe at all that any Transformation can happen. They are completely negative.

2nd – There are those that are passive (they really don’t care about that, since they live their lives in a “closed inside of self” manner). If everything is OK with them and all theirs, then everything is OK. Who cares about the outsiders?

3rd – There are those that don’t like what they are seeing and they try to do something about it with everything they have, but fail miserably and get tired, because they are trying to make a difference in their own ability and strength.

And 4th – There are those that I would like to call “The Esther Company”.

What do I mean?

The Lord showed me that the book of Esther in the Bible is maybe one of the most appropriate for the time we live in now. There’s so much wisdom in the book of Esther concerning how the Lord works to transform a person, a family, a people, a nation, and a kingdom.

You know that at the time of Esther, the devil chose himself an evil man, called Haman, through whom he managed to issue a very unrighteous law with the purpose of killing every Jew in the kingdom of Media-Persia.

Today, it’s not any different. We have our Churches all right, but at the same time, the devil is using evil men to issue unrighteous laws against God’s people, with the purpose of destroying God’s Kingdom in the Earth. These unrighteous laws are a material reflection of the unrighteous decrees the devil is releasing in the spirit world, activating his demonic host to war against us.

So, many of God’s people run in fear to their caves; many don’t care at all, and many engage in “cold blood war” against the devil and his troops and get wounded, because they do it in their own power. Thank God that the Jews had Esther and Mordecai at the time unrighteousness tried to destroy them as people of God.

Esther was so different! Let me try to share her story in the perspective The Lord showed it to me:

King Ahasuerus wanted a new Queen. He had one, but she couldn’t get his favor, because she wanted to do whatever she wanted to do.

I want to draw a parallel right here. The Lord (Our King) also has His “Queen” in the face of the Church, but many times, the Church wants to do just whatever it wants to do. That’s why, many times it can not gain the favor of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and that’s why the kingdoms of this world have not yet become the kingdoms of our God. But they will! So, the king is looking for somebody that will find favor with Him. He is willing to bestow favor. He is our King. But there are conditions.

First, all the candidates had to be virgins. Virgin is a person that has never given away his/her virginity to someone. Spiritually speaking, the one that wants to get the favor of the King must not give his/her virginity (purity, affection, devotion, focus, etc) to anyone or anything other than the King Himself. This parallel speaks of the fact that we must not love the world, nor the things of the world that constantly try to take away our primary focus. Virginity speaks of purity. Purity speaks of holiness. Holiness speaks of separation. Separation from the world’s system and separation unto God our King! Esther qualified!

Second, to be a virgin is not enough to be chosen by the King and to obtain His favor. There were many virgin candidates at the time of King Ahasuerus, but the King was looking for something more – something that only Esther happened to have in her.

What was that? It’s in the area of inward character and motives. While virginity speaks of the outward signs of purity and holiness, there are also inward signs that God our King is even more concerned about. Those are our motives and character.

We may have been separated from the world; we may have become a part of the Bride of Christ, and we may have even shown no concern for the world and what it has to offer. With all these we are trying to show to everybody else that we are God’s people and that we are seeking only Him. The more important thing though, is what our inmost motives are; what is the inmost driving force that draws us to God; what is the inmost desire of our heart. In other words, WHY are we seeking God and WHY are we doing what we are doing?

The Bible says that every girl that was a candidate for a queen, Esther included, was allowed to choose her clothing, her jewellery, and everything else she might have wanted, so her beauty could be enhanced, and SO THE KING COULD CHOOSE HER.

Every girl looked at herself, and started thinking what would be the best thing she could possibly wear. Besides that, the Bible says that everything the girls would choose for themselves would become theirs even if the King didn’t choose them.

So, no doubt many of them knew they wouldn’t be chosen, but since they now had the opportunity to at least clothe themselves with the best the world had to offer, they certainly didn’t want to lose that chance.

Many people in the Church are the same way. They have chosen God only because there are certain benefits that go along with being a Christian – namely – God’s Protection and safety; Prosperity; Healing; Deliverance, etc. In their heart, they do not really believe the Lord would choose them to do some great thing for Him – they just want His gifts (“clothing, jewellery”, etc). And I’m certainly not talking about bad Christians that want to rob God on purpose. No! I’m talking about good people that have just fallen in this deception that has crept into the Church as a whole. They don’t really realize that they fall into such a category. They think everything is Ok, but if you look at it from God’s perspective, they are not really seeking God because of Himself, but they are just happy that God has found them, and that He is blessing them. That for them is enough sign of God’s approval. But actually they are not experiencing God’s personal favor in their lives. Just some of His blessings! There’s a big difference between favor and blessings.

There are blessings, that the Lord gives to just and unjust alike (like His Sun is shining everyday above both). That doesn’t mean though that you have obtained the more intimate, personal favor of God. It’s reserved for another group of people – The Esther Company. Not that God is a respecter of persons. No, He loves everybody the same, but on the other hand, everybody knows not all Christians have the same favor from the Lord. It’s because the Bible says: “Draw near to God, and He’ll draw near to you”.

See, there are things we are to do first, so the Lord draws Himself near to us. This first category of girls here didn’t know that, so they just chose for themselves the best clothing and jewellery, and were completely satisfied to stay in the King’s Harem until the rest of their life. That’s what I would call a miserable, no-purpose, no-reality, no-power life.

Now this was the shallow part. Let’s go some deeper. There certainly were other girls that were sure the King would chose them, so they as well tried to think of the best way they could appear before the King. Their problem is much deeper, and it’s rooted in PRIDE.

What do I mean? Since they were so sure in themselves, they wanted to choose the best, so they could obtain that power the King was offering. They were hungry for His Anointing, hungry for His Authority, and hungry for His Power.

There’s nothing wrong with that, except if you are doing it with the wrong motives, which are – To become famous in the eyes of men.

Now, please don’t think I’m talking about bad Christians here too. No! Those are the same good Christians, only falling into the second great deception of the devil. It’s a more dangerous deception though, because it’s playing games not just with the outward blessings, but with the Anointing of the Lord.

Why do I say that? Because at the time of Esther, before a girl entered the King’s chamber, she had to undergo 6 months of beauty treatments with oil of myrrh, followed by another 6 months with special perfumes and ointments. Can you guess how the girl would smell after a year of everyday treatment like that? Now, the myrrh was one of the holy parts that were to be put in the holy anointing oil The Lord commanded Moses to prepare. It was to be used only for Divine consecration purposes. It was holy UNTO THE LORD.

Now the parallel – The Church is full of people that think (and that’s a common misconception) the Anointing of the Lord is for the purpose of making us “look and smell” good to the other people. That’s why many people, when they get anointed by God, fall into Pride, thinking they are more than the others. They don’t understand that the anointing is for the purpose of “covering”, “masking” the stench of the person’s “flesh” (I’m speaking spiritually), so that they can be accepted before the King.

Can you imagine what would have happened if a girl had gone to the King without bathing herself in those oils even once? Would she be accepted? No! Absolutely not!

So, this anointing the Lord anoints us with, must be used UNTO THE LORD. The dangerous part is when we try to boast with it before the others, saying: “Smell me. See how good I smell, not like you. See me. Follow me because I’m anointed, etc”.

Can you see the danger in that? That’s the category of people that want to please the King, but do it in their own power and actually they want people to be pleased with them. That’s the hidden motive. They would do anything so people can get attracted to their “looks and smell”. On the other hand, they won’t do anything that may turn people away from them.

Now Esther was a totally different kind of person. The Bible gives us a tremendous key about her character in Esther 2:15

“Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her”

Let me explain: When all the girls had to go to the palace to undergo beauty treatment, they were all put under the care of the King’s chamberlain Hegai.

Now, please think a little bit. For a person to become a chamberlain of the King (that means the King would trust him with his marriage bed), what kind of a person must he be? Beside the fact that he was to be an eunuch, according to me he had to certainly know the King better than most others in the area of knowing what the King liked and what he didn’t like in a lady. This Hegai was chosen by the King, and he certainly knew better than anyone else whom the King would likely bestow his favor upon, and who would never get it.

So, this chamberlain was in command of all the girls. Besides the mandatory spices and all else the girls had to use, he certainly could have told them some secret things to help them be what the King would like. Don’t you think he knew some little secrets?

The problem with the first category – they didn’t want the King, they wanted His “clothing and jewellery”.

The problem with the second category – they wanted favor with men more than favor with the King, so they chose what they thought was the best.

Can you see the wisdom of Esther though? She knew none other than the chamberlain knew best what the King would like, and so she didn’t want anything else (nothing from the world, and no fame before the people). She knew all this was for the King and the King Himself, so she focused on the King alone. All the others thought all this was for them – so they can be the beautiful queens, so they can be the best they can, and so others would like them and stand in awe of them. But this was not about what they liked, or how they thought they would look the best – the whole thing was about what the King liked and what He thought was the best – His will, His purposes, His intentions, His strategies, and His taste. Esther knew that!

So, it’s not about us and what we like, or what we think would impress our God, but it’s about finding out what He likes, and what He thinks is best for us to be and do! The Lord is not a blessing machine – He is the Almighty Lord of Glory – Creator of Heaven and Earth – Possessor of everything.

So, how do we find out what the King likes? By two means:

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Dedicated to all sincere Christians who are seeking to glorify the Lord with their lives, giving Him all their attention. It reveals one of the main strategies of the enemy and The Lord’s way of overcoming it. It is a teaching about the end time Church, because our generation, more than any other, must know the Lord personally and intimately, giving Him all our focus, concentration and meditation, so we can fulfill all His purposes and Intentions in the Earth. 


An Important note: This booklet is full of definitions of different terms connected with Distraction and focus. Please don’t consider them boring and thus ignore the booklet, because those are anointed definitions and if you read them carefully, I believe you will be extremely blessed and will receive a powerful revelation of the way the devil works and the way the Lord works.God Bless you mightily!

I heard the Lord speak something in my spirit, which was so clear and distinctive. It was a sentence that completely turned my life around. It is very simple, yet so profound. I heard the Lord say to me: Distraction is a sure way to Destruction! Whew! Can you grasp the significance of that? Distraction?

The time we are living in is a unique time. The Lord has been restoring truths to His Body, the Church, and now, more than ever, we need to pay attention to all the Lord is doing. That’s exactly why I believe Distraction is one of the most powerful weapons the devil is using and will continue to use against Christians worldwide.

Distraction is defined as: “something that diverts attention: something that interferes with concentration or takes attention away from something else”.

Distracting somebody means: “diverting somebody’s attention: taking somebody’s attention away from what he or she wants to do or ought to be doing”.

Distracted means:

1. Preoccupied: showing a lack of concentration 2. Anxious: so worried or upset as to be unable to think clearly or act sensibly

The verb To Distract means:

1. Catch somebody’s attention: to take somebody’s attention away from what he or she is doing or thinking or from what is happening 2. Amuse somebody: to amuse or entertain somebody, especially as a means of taking his or her mind off something 3. Make somebody uneasy: to unsettle somebody’s mind with disturbing, confusing, or conflicting emotions

The Lord showed me that the devil can not stop us from going to Church; he can not stop us from reading the Bible; he can not stop us from fellowship with each other, BUT he can do a far worse thing than that, and that is to DISTRACT US.

Distract us from what? From the Lord Himself and from His purposes and intentions for our life individually, as well as for the life of His Body corporately!

The fact that we go to Church, or read the Bible, or even pray, does not at all mean that we are giving ourselves to the Lord really. We just do stuff.

Everybody knows you can read the Bible and think about something so far away at the same time, that you may not even remember afterwards which passage you have read. You can go to church and listen to the most anointed sermon and yet, never hear even one word of it. You can pray as much as you want and yet, never even turn your mind towards God during your prayer. We, as people, have that amazing ability to listen and yet not hear. That’s why Jesus said: “Let those that have ears, HEAR (not just listen) what the Spirit says”.

A good picture of how destructive distraction can be is when somebody is driving a car. When the driver is looking at the road in front of himself, he is driving properly, but as soon as he starts looking to the right or to the left, he gets distracted and worse than that, he is unconsciously going in the exact direction he is looking. He is distracted and he’ll get into the ditch with his vehicle. Why? Because he’s looking at the ditch, and not at the road! Well, Jesus said: “I’m the WAY (road)”. He also said that this WAY (path) is narrow.

If you are walking on a broad path, you may get distracted and still not fall off, but our path (the path that leads to life) is not broad. It’s a narrow road. So, we can not afford to get distracted, because if we do, we fall off very easily. And the devil will see to it, that there are all kinds of distractions at both sides of that road – lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life, cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, worries, deceases, amusements, entertainments, false motives, false dreams, false promises, false promotions, worldly success and glamour and much more. All these ill make us compromise our life and calling, our family, our leading from the Lord and our spiritual goals, passions and zeal.

Thank God for His mercy, because He lifts us up every time we fall in the ditch, providing that we are sincere and not hypocrites. But on the other hand, He expects us to learn to walk more and more steadily on that narrow path as we grow up in Him.

It’s just like the little children. We, as parents help them walk steadily when they are small and inexperienced, but as they grow up, we expect them to start walking on their own. In the same way, as we grow up in the Spirit, we are not supposed to grow only in our knowledge, our heads, our reasoning, our activities, our stuff, our etc, but in our practical walk on that road, which includes our personal relationship with the Lord Himself and our following His purposes and intentions.

That’s why, the Lord told us again and again not to turn to the right hand, or to the left, but to walk straight ahead in the race (Way) set before us.

How can we do that? I believe the Lord gives us a powerful insight. The Bible talks constantly about that and yet, it’s so simple that we ignore it. It’s best described with three words: focus, concentration, and meditation.

Before examining these three words, I want to warn you that these are words we must examine with the Lord’s leading and from the Lord’s perspective. That’s because the devil also uses these words to teach his troops about the power of magic, witchcraft, demonic astrology, levitation, yoga, astral experiences, and all kinds of other wicked activities.

We must not throw these words out just because the devil also uses them though. The devil is a counterfeiter and he perverts everything the Lord has originated in the first place, so if we put these words in the proper Divine perspective, we will receive a powerful insight, because these are anointed terms the Lord loves. Our Lord is called THE WORD so “focus, concentration and meditation” are Divine words that will give us a key to overcoming the enemy. Just pray that the Lord gives you the biblical parallel concerning all the definitions of these three words.

Now, let’s take focus first.

The word focus means:

1. Main emphasis: concentrated effort or attention on a particular thing2. Area of concern: an area of concern, responsibility, or investigation3. Sharpness of image: the quality of being sharply defined with clear edges and contrast4. Seeing sharply: the condition of seeing sharply and clearly

The verb to focus means:

1. Concentrate mainly on something: to give your main attention to one thing or one aspect of a thing 2. Adjust vision to see clearly: to adjust your vision so that you see clearly and sharply, or to become adjusted for clear vision 3. Adjust lens: to adjust a lens so that the image viewed is clear and sharp

To be focused means:

1. Concentrated: concentrated on a single thing 2. Single-minded: single-minded and determined

In Optics, the focus is a point in which any number of rays of light meet, after being reflected or refracted; as the focus of a lens.

In Geography and Nuclear Physics, the focus speaks of the earthquake origin: the point of origin within the earth of an earthquake or underground nuclear explosion.

In Medicine, the focus is the disease origin: the point from which a disease spreads, or where it localizes.

The Latin word focus means: “hearth, fireplace” (source also of English FOYER and FUEL), perhaps because it was the “center” of the home.

How much this speaks to us, doesn’t it? How much power can be released by just focusing on the right object – in our case – THE LORD HIMSELF! It’s the power of an earthquake; it’s the power of a nuclear explosion, and it’s the point from which everything else spreads!

I really love definitions, because they help us understand what exactly stands behind every word. They paint a picture for our mind and spirit. Don’t these definitions speak for themselves? We can just read and reread them and get so much out of them.

What we need is to learn how to take God on focus. He and His Purposes must be the object of our main emphasis, concentrated effort, area of concern, responsibility, investigation, concentration, vision, single-mindedness, determination and point of origin.

I believe everybody has taken some pictures with a photo camera and knows very well that …

WHAT YOU TAKE ON FOCUS WILL LEAD YOU EXACTLY TO THE OBJECT OF THE FOCUS!

That’s why Jesus said it’s the same to sleep with another woman, as it is to look at her (take her on focus). It’s the same, because one will inevitably lead to the other. If not naturally, then in the heart, which is even worse.

Now, let’s see the word concentrate. It means:

1. Silently and intensely think about something: to focus all of your thoughts or mental activity on one subject or activity2. Devote efforts to one thing: to direct attention, time, and resources to one particular area or activity, usually over a period of time 3. Make purer: to make a substance purer by the removal of another substance, especially by removing a liquid 4. Make thicker or stronger: to remove water from a substance, usually a liquid, leaving a smaller quantity that is thicker in consistency and stronger in flavor 5. Purify ore: to remove rock and other material from ore to purify it 6. To concentrate rays of light into a focus

Concentration means: “focus of mind or resources: the direction of all thought or effort toward one particular task, idea, or subject”.

Can you see how if we concentrate our focus on God and not on the world and what it has to offer, the unnecessary liquids, dross, and rocks (spiritually speaking – the spiritual, mental, emotional and flesh corruption in our life) will melt and disappear, and our relationship with the Lord will receive a totally new flavor – stronger and thicker! That speaks of a greater revelation of the Lord Himself and of His Purposes. It also speaks of God’s Glory – His concentrated thickness, and weightiness.

And lastly, meditate.

Meditate means:

1. Empty or concentrate the mind: to concentrate the mind on one thing, in order to develop the mind or spirit, aid contemplation 2. Think carefully about something: to think about something calmly, seriously, and for some time 3. Study seriously a topic: an extended and serious study of a particular topic

You see, meditation, concentration and focus are connected. If we want to be absolutely focused on God and His purposes and intentions, we must first concentrate our attention on Him. The more we do it, the more we take Him on focus, making the final “picture” clearer and sharper. Well, in order that we concentrate on the Lord effectively, we must meditate on His Word and in His presence.

I think Psalm 1 says it best:

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he MEDITATE day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”

See how important it is for us to meditate on the Lord and His law, and not on something else. Every person thinks about something all the time anyway, and that’s why it’s so important our meditation, concentration and focus to be on the Lord, because we’ll get no further than what we focus on.

I would like to close with a verse of Scripture in Psalm 63:2 that strengthens this truth:

“So have I looked upon Thee in the sanctuary, to see Thy power and Thy glory” (ASV)

So I look for You in the holy place to see Your power and Your glory” (GW)

Here David says that he looked upon God in the sanctuary, so that he could see God’s Glory and Power. In other words, in order that we see God’s Glory and Power, we have to look upon God. You know what that Hebrew word look upon means? You guessed it: “to gaze at (focus on); contemplate (meditate); to have a vision of”.

Actually, this is the word from which the Hebrews took the word for seer in the Old Testament. You know that in the Old Testament times, the Prophets were called seers, because the Word of the Lord always came to them in the form of visions. So they were seers in God’s world; gazers and beholders of God’s Glory.

That’s why David said (paraphrased): “If You want to experience God’s Glory and Power in Your life; if You want to experience that explosive “nuclear” supernatural Power; if You want to experience that sweet favor of God’s thickness, if You want that pureness – all You have to do is look upon (focus on, concentrate, and meditate on the Lord.

Let’s give the Lord our undivided attention by meditating upon Him, His Word, His Purposes, His Intentions, His Will, His Promises, and His Inheritance for our life. This will help us concentrate on Him and His kingdom values and not on the world and the devil’s values. This respectively will help us take the Lord on focus more and more and the final result will be that a very clear and sharp image of God’s plan for our life will be “printed out” and “published” in this Earth, which will bring Glory to the Lord.

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Introduction

We are living in a time of destiny. The Lord is repositioning His Church into a new place of stature and authority. More and more the Lord is speaking about His kingdom being established on this Earth and His will being executed here, as it is in Heaven, by His saints. All over the world the Lord is releasing messages about His will, purposes, intentions, destiny, inheritance and strategies to win our neighborhoods, regions, cities and nations, and to bring His kingdom rule into every possible area – our personal life, our family, our work, the social and political life as well.

That puts you and me – His saints – in a new place of responsibility and accountability, because there are things we must do and qualities we must acquire, in order for us to qualify for this new move of God. Every new move of the Lord among His people requires new standards of living for them – a new dedication, a new consecration, a new level of a life of holiness and a new price to be paid.

You are not born with no reason to live. Absolutely nobody on this Earth has ever been born just like that – to live and die without fulfilling God’s purpose for his or her life. That may be a fact in many people’s lives, but it certainly is not God’s initial plan and idea for it to be so. You are born with a purpose and you have been placed where you are for a purpose.

Definition of Life

Life itself has three main substances – Reality, Purpose, and Power.

If a person does not have Reality (and by that I mean God to be real to him) – that’s not life, but Mere Existence. Life is an aggressive thing, not stagnant or apathetic. We have to always press forward, so we can catch Him – otherwise we might as well lie down and sleep till we die.

Then comes Purpose – what thing can be called Life, that does not have a purpose? Everything that God has given life to, has a purpose. Every person that has ever been born on this Earth has been born with God’s Divine and Perfect Purpose to fulfill a given mandate in life. And again, we have to do everything we can (pray, fast, seek, knock, praise, worship, adore, magnify, glorify, ask, consecrate, separate, etc.), so we can touch God, and find that Purpose for which He has given us our life.

And lastly, a life full of Reality and Purpose will definitely produce Power – Power to transform us first, and then those around us.

Gideon

We can see that very clearly in the story of Gideon (Judges 6:1-16). Because of the sins of the nation, Israel was suffering greatly under the bondage of the Midianites. Then the Lord chose Himself a man. He was an ordinary man, fearing the Midianites as everybody else, threshing wheat by the winepress, hiding himself and even thinking of himself as being a part of a poor family and the least in his father’s house (v.15). Yet, the Lord has never ever meant it to be like that for this simple, ordinary man, because he had a destiny.

The angel of the Lord went to him and that is Reality, don’t you think? That’s the first substance of our God given life on this Earth. Many times the Lord is sending angels (messengers) of His in our path as well, and it would be good if we pay attention to them. They carry God’s voice and power. The Lord appeared to Gideon in the face of this angel and He assured him that the Lord will continue to be with him from then on. Why? Because He had a Purpose for his life! That’s the second substance – purpose, destiny, calling, and mandate. The Lord’s purpose was to use Gideon as a mighty deliverer.

Who? Gideon? The least of the least? Yes, him. And it’s no different for us. Please don’t think it is. The Lord has a great destiny for you as well. He wants you to be a deliverer. He wants you to bring God’s salvation, healing, deliverance, protection, prosperity, wholeness and total victory everywhere, where the sole of your foot treads upon – your personal life, your family, your children, your church, your ministry, your business, your job, your city, your nation and to the uttermost parts of the Earth.

You think you have no power to do that? Gideon thought the same. Here comes the third substance – the Power. The Lord told Gideon:

“Go in this your might, and you will save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent you?” (Judges 6:14)

Again, please don’t think Gideon was some super hero at that time. Exactly on the contrary – he was hiding, he was afraid, he thought he was the least, he even thought that the Lord had completely forsaken Israel (6:13). Yet, the Lord saw might in him. He saw power in that little man.

I want you to know that the Lord has invested power on the inside of you. The Holy Spirit – the most powerful Person in the whole Universe – lives on the inside of us. He has come to live in our heart with His everything – Person, attributes, qualities, fruit, gifts, power and abilities – all. He has everything we will ever need to accomplish all God wants. We have that power at our disposal and the only thing we need to do is connect it to God’s reality and purpose. Because that power is not ours to use for our own benefit, but it has been invested and installed in us in order that we completely fulfill God’s destiny for our life and enter into the inheritance that the Lord has for us.

Please don’t say: “I am weak, I am the least, I am incapable, I am not worthy, The Lord has forgotten me, He has delivered me into the hands of my enemies, etc”, because that’s a contradiction of the greatest proportions.

The Lord is living in us. He couldn’t have come any closer. His gifts are with Him in us. His character is with Him in us. His fruit is with Him in us. We have everything we need to be the deliverers the Lord wants. We have the power to be witnesses for Him in such a way that His glory covers the whole Earth and His kingdom gets established in every sphere of existence.

So, the power is in us. The reality of the Lord’s presence will give us the assurance that we are walking on the right path, because we will have His presence with us. The purpose will be the avenue where we must channel all the power, so the Lord’s will can be done through us, not ours. In this way, we have a complete picture of a wholesome, spiritually prosperous and meaningful life on this side of Heaven.

Samson

Now let us go deeper. I believe this is a prophetic teaching for the end time deliverers the Lord is raising and will continue to raise. It is drawn from the life of another great deliverer – Samson. His story is described in Judges 13th through 16th chapter.

The situation is similar to that of Gideon. Again because of sin, the Lord had delivered Israel to their enemies – this time the Philistines.

Now, slavery can produce two main reactions from the ones suffering.

The first reaction is desperation and closing in one self. People in slavery are often people with a damaged mentality, not good for anything. People that have been in slavery too long and have responded in that first way are people that have ruined their life completely. Their spirit has been crushed. Their heart is bitter and aching. Their mind is totally out of date. Their everything has been completely destroyed. Maybe they have lost many loved ones along the way. According to such people, there is no hope whatsoever for them to recover. And naturally that is true. Only the Lord can bring supernatural restoration that goes beyond any human achievement or ability.

The second and better reaction is for the people in slavery to cry out to the Lord for help, out of the deep pain in their heart, placing all their trust in the Lord to deliver them. That’s what the Israelites did in Exodus 2:23, 24 before the Lord sent them a deliverer in the face of Moses. That’s what the Israelites did here, in the 13th chapter of the book of Judges as well and the Lord was about to do something so great in their midst, that hadn’t even come to their minds. He was about to send them a mighty deliverer – a person with such a great supernatural power upon his flesh and blood body, that it’s hardly believable. The anointing of the Spirit would come so mightily upon him, that he would tore up lions like lambs and he would kill a thousand enemies with a donkey’s jaw. He was from the tribe of Dan (meaning: Judge). He was called to be a special servant, a deliverer (13:5). He was born in the right time, as we all are. He was to be dedicated from his birth till his death (13:7). He was to be holy, as the Lord is holy. He was to have a tremendous destiny – one of a deliverer, a judge, a carrier of God’s Glory, an expander of His kingdom, a ruler with God’s scepter of righteousness, a fear in the eyes of all God’s enemies.

Can we see ourselves in that destiny? Because the Lord wants to produce deliverers out of us too. He wants to fill us with His Spirit, His destiny, His power and anointing, His ability and might, His words, His gifts, His fruit, His love, His wisdom and His Glory. He wants us to be witnesses for Him. He wants to extend His kingdom rule through us.

Please don’t say: “I can not do that”. If you do not go, who will? If you do not obey, who will? If you do not speak up, who will? There’s a cry in the Lord’s heart and it’s a cry coming also from His throne: “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8). He expects us to say: “Here I am Lord, send me”. He expects us to prove our love to Him by giving our life for Him.

Somebody said: “If you do not have what to die for, you really do not have what to live for either”. That’s reality. That’s purpose. That’s power. We are living in a real world. Our enemy is real. He is killing people for real. He is deceiving people for real. He is working in the children of disobedience for real. There is so much suffering in this world of ours. So much hatred! So much weeping! So much tragedy!

Who do you suppose will have to change that? Whom will the Lord use? Yes – you! Yes – me! The Lord wants to make deliverers out of us. There’s bondage. There’s slavery to sin. There’s war in the spirit. Who will go for the Lord? Who will receive and accept the call and mandate of the Lord to become a deliverer? Who will stand in the gap, seeing all the spiritual slavery this world is in, and cry out to the Lord to send more workers in His harvest – more deliverers? Who will feel the pain in God’s heart and express it back to God in prayer and intercession?

We may be successful in our personal lives; we may be prosperous in every way; we may be whole; we may have achieved our goals, but if our heart does not beat (pulsate) with God’s heart; if our mind is not filled with His thoughts; if our spirit is not activated with His dreams, purposes and intentions; if our body is not ready to fast, pray, commit, consecrate, separate and deny certain things, which could hinder our going forward in His will; if our talents are not used for His purposes and dreams to be fulfilled; if our gifts are not motivated by His love; if our fruit is not the Holy Spirit’s fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance – what are we talking about? We will just have used the Lord’s heart, mind, gifts, fruit and resources to meet our own needs, satisfy our own desires and fulfill our own agendas.

We have a call. We have a destiny. We have a mandate. We have a purpose, and that is to be a deliverer where we are. Maybe that’s your family who needs a deliverer. Maybe your church you are leading. Maybe your job. Your business. Your block. Your neighborhood. Your city. Your nation. The nations of the world.

Naturally, we all say: “But Lord, we can not do that. We are the least of the least.” Of course we are. Who isn’t? We must all wake up to the fact, that it’s not about who we are, but about who He can become in and through us if we let Him in obedience. You see? We could never ever possibly do it ourselves. Nobody can, but Him. That’s what we are talking about – His Reality, His Purpose and His Power. We only have to say: “Yes”.

The Womb

Now, how can that come in manifestation? In order that a deliverer can be born, there must be a womb that will produce him. In the case of Samson, that of course, was his mother’s womb. Spiritually speaking, there is a womb that produces this type of Samson deliverer’s anointing.

There were requirements toward the womb of the mother of Samson. There are also requirements for the spiritual womb that is about to give birth to something new – something more powerful that ever before. Every new time and season of God, every new move, every new wave of the Lord’s presence coming with a new purpose, requires a new kind of womb – a new kind of wineskin. You can not use the old wineskin for the new wine – the wineskin will burst and the wine will be lost, not going in the right direction and not being used as it should.

The angel of the Lord warned the mother of Samson that she was not to “drink wine, nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.” (Judges 13:7).

In other words, when the Lord wants to produce a new type of deliverer, He also sets a new standard of holiness. The higher and deeper we go in God, the more we must keep ourselves holy and undivided in our focus.

The womb is the Church – the Lord’s BODY. The womb is in the body, right? The Lord’s Body is producing men and women of destiny. The Lord though, is setting new standards for His Body, in order that it can be positioned rightly, so it can give birth to people of unusual power and anointing, willing and able to turn the world downside up for the Lord.

The Church of this time must be holy. It must not “drink wine”. Wine is a symbol of everything that intoxicates us. It is the major weapon of the Harlot of Babylon from Revelations 14:8, who made the whole earth drink of the wine of her fornication. Wine takes away your focus.

“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Strong drink is for him that is ready to perish, and wine for those that are of heavy hearts.” (Proverbs 31:4-6)

Wine is a symbol of all that the world has to offer, that will blind us from our real purpose in life, and will engage us in the things of the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1)

The church must be holy. The womb must be holy. The people of God must be holy. They must not be given to “the wine of Babylon”. They must be dedicated from the time of their new birth till the time of their going home to be with the Lord.

God’s Wisdom

We see from the above verse that wine will try to destroy God’s wisdom in us. It will try to deceive us. That’s why, a prayer for wisdom is crucially important in such a season as this. Apostle Paul prayed for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that the eyes of our understanding can be enlightened and so that we can see the Lord’s calling, destiny, purpose and inheritance He has prepared for us (Ephesians 1:17-19).

In Judges 13:8, 12 Samson’s father prays to the Lord to give him wisdom and instruction on how to raise the child to be born. He was a wise man. He knew if the Lord wanted to give them such an incredible promise of power and might, he would need all the wisdom to channel it properly.

When the Lord gave all Israel in its best state ever to Solomon, he knew that such a great responsibility and burden could only be carried with God’s wisdom and that’s why he prayed for wisdom when the Lord asked him what he wanted (1 Kings 3:5-10). That prayer pleased the Lord then and it continues to please Him, because it shows our complete dependence and reliance on Him and Him alone.

The Lord does want to produce deliverers out of us, but we must be wise enough to pray for wisdom and revelation, because we would otherwise use the Lord’s power and anointing for our own self gratification and promotion.

The Good part of the Story of Samson

Well Samson was born, grew and was blessed by the Lord.

“And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol” (Judges 13:25)

Another translation says that the Spirit of the Lord began to excite him whenever he visited the parade grounds of the army of the tribe of Dan.

There’s a good key here, which most Christians overlook. It says that he got excited in the spirit and anointing of the Lord when he visited his army – the army of his tribe. That is very important. He didn’t go to watch the other armies – he went to his tribe’s army and got excited about spiritual warfare. The anointing would fall on him as he watched the army getting prepared for battle.

If you have ever watched an army, you have surely seen the beauty of it, which is extremely inspiring. To see the whole order, everyone in his place, not breaking ranks, moving as one, yelling as one, and determination in each one – it’s just awesome. It is exciting indeed. Many Christians though can not get excited when they watch their own army (their family, their Church, their ministry, etc). They watch other “armies” and like them better. Often they jump from “army” to “army”, never satisfied and never ending up in one permanently. That destroys their inner potential. That destroys the opportunity for them to be produced, formed, shaped and born into what the Lord has for them, because the womb is missing.

Samson began to get excited when he watched his own army. Maybe it wasn’t the best army of all the tribes of Israel. But he didn’t see that. He allowed the Spirit to move him, to excite him and he began to see himself in that army, chasing God’s enemies out of the territories of his people. He began to dream, he began to fill his heart and mind with God’s power and anointing and that moved him and excited him extremely much.

Don’t look at the other armies! They have their own destiny in God. Of course, we all have a higher destiny in God as a whole Body (Army), but jumping from one section of that corporate army to another will certainly not get the job done, especially when that jumping happens without God’s leading. So, go watch your own army and get excited. Imagine yourself being an active part of it. Fill your heart and mind with God’s power and anointing for victory. Get excited and let the Lord form and shape you, being humble and waiting for your time to come out of the womb and be a mighty deliverer.

Unfortunately, here ends the good part of Samson’s life. That was the part in which we could see what the Lord’s dream for Samson was – His calling, purpose and destiny for him. There is also our part in every vision from the Lord though and here we must put our greatest effort.

Samson did many mistakes and it would be worth it, if we open our eyes, ears and hearts to see what they were and how we can avoid them.

Samson’s downfall

In Judges 14:1 we see him going to Timnath and making an attempt to marry. Now marriage is a covenant. It is a good thing for a person to marry. Except if he searches in the wrong place.

Timnath means: a portion assigned. That itself speaks of covenant. The problem – it was a portion assigned, but not for him.

His parents confronted him, but he wouldn’t listen. That was his 1st big mistake – not obeying fatherhood. There’s wisdom the Lord is releasing through natural and spiritual fathers and leaders. It can save us from danger and from entering wrong covenant relationships (14:3).

Samson acted stubbornly. This spiritual warfare deliverance anointing will require humility, submission and sensitivity. The Lord has placed fathers above us. These could be our earthly parents, or they could be our leaders – apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers the Lord has placed above us. Having a spiritual covering of protection can save us from so many unnecessary pitfalls. Besides, it’s not about us only, but when we act stubbornly, the whole army suffers. Our mistakes affect not only ourselves, but the ones that are fighting shoulder to shoulder with us. The Lord is a Lord of authority and order. The kingdom of God is not a democracy. It never has been and never will be.

Being responsible and accountable before another person has always been the Lord’s will for each and every one of us. Every one of us must be a part of a Body of believers, and the Lord has placed spiritual leaders above all of us. They are placed in their positions to watch over our souls:

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17)

Now that is the Lord’s deed and responsibility lies with us to accept it or reject it. But we better accept it, because otherwise we will follow in the mistakes of Samson, which destroyed his life.

That is especially important in the times we are living right now. We have already seen the restoration of the five-fold ministry of the evangelist, pastor and teacher. Those are gifts that have been, are and always will be so needed in the Body of Christ, so it can reach the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Those are gifts that help us all to find our individual identity in God – to receive salvation (the forgiveness of our sins) through the finished work of Christ on the Cross; to find out who we are in God and Who God is in us; to learn how to prosper spiritually, emotionally, physically, socially and materially; to get healed and stay healthy; to abide by God’s principles and rules; to live holy and with integrity; to develop Divine habits and so much more along these lines.

Now the Lord has set in His heart to bring restoration to the other two five-fold ministry gifts in the Body of Christ – the ministry of the prophet and the ministry of the apostle. We have seen Him do it the last 20 years or so, and that’s just the beginning. The Lord will continue to do that more and more, because those two ministries are so crucially needed today. Those ministries are the ones that help us all to identify God’s purposes, intentions, goals, dreams and destiny. They focus on the larger picture of what the Lord wants to do universally in and through His Body. They help us find our corporate identity in God’s purposes for our generations. Those ministries are also the ones that bring back God’s order in His Body and they are the ones that deal with our sins, self-centeredness, ego, selfishness, pride, hypocrisy and character flaws, so we can take our eyes off of ourselves and all about and around us, and focus on the things that the Lord is interested in – the dreams in His heart; His desires and purposes, which He wants fulfilled in each and every generation.

Of course, that does not mean to say that some ministries are more important than others. No! Ephesians 4:12, 13 clearly shows that we can never reach our potential in God unless we have all these five-filed ministries working together. Only then the saints will be fully equipped to do the work of the Lord’s ministry.

Samson was destined to become the judge of Israel and a mighty deliverer, but, because of wrong covenant – he started playing games with his enemies. He gave them a riddle to solve. Can you believe that? God’s mighty deliverer was challenging the enemy with a riddle on the feast of his wrong wedding ceremony. Whew!

One thing is good – challenging the world, like Elijah did. He challenged all the wicked false prophets of Baal and Asherah – 850 of them – to a spiritual battle for all the people to see whose god is the LORD. But Elijah didn’t challenge them with a riddle – he challenged them to an open demonstration fight on a spiritual level. One prophet of the Lord against 850 false prophets of the chief wicked demonic being worshipped at that time – Baal. And because of this one man of God, all these magicians could not perform their magic tricks to bring down fire from their god. The presence of one man of God blocked all their natural knowledge, wisdom and tricks, and supernatural power and demonic support.

The Importance of Character

That was incredible. Samson though, tried to challenge his enemies with a riddle and the sad part was that he wasn’t strong enough in his character to even endure such a low level challenge. He was actually playing games with the world, thinking that he could do that, because the anointing of the Spirit was upon him. He had to first make sure he had the character enough to endure the temptation. He had the power and anointing, but no character whatsoever.

That is a thing we must beware of. We must always try to grow in character and not only in the anointing of the Lord, because the gifts and the anointing are given to us freely, but the character and fruit must be produced and formed by experience and going through different situations. The worst thing is when we go through something and just disregard it, without drawing the necessary conclusions so we don’t do it again, like Samson did. His first “wife” betrayed him after taking advantage of his weakness and obviously he never even gave it a second thought, because later on, his last “wife” used absolutely the same weakness of him again and outwitted him so easily.

The Purpose of a Deliverer

The Bible says in Judges 15:20 that Samson judged Israel for 20 years, but the Philistines still ruled the land.

But what is that? What is our purpose? What is the purpose of a judge and what is the purpose of a mighty deliverer?

Would Moses be called a deliverer if the Egyptians still ruled over Israel? Absolutely not! The purpose the Lord sends a deliverer is so that His kingdom can prevail and rule.

Samuel

Maybe the best example in this area is the prophet Samuel. He was the last judge of Israel, before the kings’ era came about. He was mighty in word and deed. The Lord wouldn’t let any of his words fall to the ground without being fulfilled (1 Samuel 3:19). His mother had given him for the Lord’s service all the days of his life (1 Samuel 1:11) and see what the result was:

“So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of the life of Samuel.” (bold added by the author) (1 Samuel 7:13) Can you believe that? The Lord’s protection was over the whole nation of Israel because of one single man of God, dedicated to serve Him as a deliverer. His heart attitude was the following:

“For the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake: because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things He has done for you.” (bold added by the author) (1 Samuel 12:22-24)

We should have the same attitude if we will be used by the Lord as mighty deliverers. We must allow the Lord to place our nations in our heart and we must believe the Lord for them. We must pray for our families. We must pray for our cities. We must pray for our nations. We must pray for the world. We must feel the heart of the Lord – His pain and burden. That must be our priority. Samuel considered it a sin not to pray for his nation. Apostle Paul said the same thing, with different words:

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who wants all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

That kind of prayer and intercession attitude is connected with the salvation of the world. Many Christians choose to criticize everybody from the “king” to the “pauper”, while at the same time, the Lord has chosen them to pray and stand in the gap for their nation. Yes, there may be unrighteousness; yes, there may be lawlessness, but if we – the ones the Lord has placed as a spiritual covering – do not take our positions as such, there’s no other hope for our people.

The Lord has not forsaken your nation. His hand is not shortened and His name is greater than any other name trying to rule instead. He wants all people to come to the knowledge of the truth.

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Dedication

Acknowledgments

1. God’s image in us

2. What happened with God’s image of dominion in us?

3. The Solution

4. From Glory to Glory

5. Definitions

6. Some Comparisons

7. The Image of the beast

8. Image of the beast / Image of God comparison

9. Spirit of Power, Love and Sound Mind

10. Global Images

11. How To Acquire God’s Image In Us

12. Historic Progression of God’s Kingdom

13. The 5-fold Ministry

14. The Church Structure

15. Revival, Reformation and Transformation

16. Summary of Image Progressions

17. Closing Words

To you, that do not know the Lord

About the author and his family

Chapter 2

What Happened with God’s Image of Dominion in Us?

Well, that’s a good image, don’t you think? Everybody knows though, that almost none of us are walking in that spiritual stature.

We all know how Adam and Eve fell from God’s grace and the original image the Lord had given them – to be rulers with Him on the Earth.

Since that time, all throughout the Old Testament the people of God (and the people of the world as a whole) had been subjects to the demonic systems of the world, and to the environment around them, all being operating under satan’s control. Even children know the story of how Adam and Eve gave the authority invested in them, to satan and how he began to have dominion in every sphere of human existence – he corrupted the spirits of men, he contaminated their souls, messed up their emotions and bodies with all kinds of sicknesses and deceases, got into their economic, social and political life. All in all, satan took the dominion and subdued all under his power.

But that was what all was about, right? Dominion and Rulership! See? That’s the original purpose of God for man. satan knew that and thus, he used all his strength towards gaining that dominion. And through his cunning treachery, he succeeded.

The Lord though, promised to send His Son that would one day crash satan’s head and regain man’s authority and dominion with God back.

That’s exactly what Jesus did on the Cross through His sacrifice. He took the keys of death and hell from satan, “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). He took upon Himself all our sins and sicknesses and provided salvation, healing, deliverance, protection, prosperity, complete wholeness and total victory for us. This actually is the sevenfold meaning of the Greek word soteria, which we use for salvation.

So, Jesus paid the price for our sins, sicknesses and failures. He provided the way for us to become new creations:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17)

The whole point is that every favorable condition for us regaining our place and stature of authority and dominion is in place right now. What then is missing?

Chapter 3

The Solution

Let’s go back to Genesis 1:26, 27. The Bible says that God made man in His own image and gave him dominion. Spiritually speaking, we can not have dominion without being made.

What does that mean? Basically there are two ways to have authority and dominion.

The first is to use the worldly systems and methods of acquiring dominion. Sadly enough, many Christians are constantly using the world’s ways and methods for promotion. They are climbing the ladder of success by making compromises with their spiritual values, moral qualities, family life, children and even their own life. Of course, there’s absolutely nothing wrong in being successful – on the contrary – but they are doing it in absolutely the same way the world is doing it, with all the world’s passions, desires and lusts (cravings). Their career is their God and they have not even begun to stir up the love and passion that’s shed abroad on the inside of them by the Holy Spirit, for fulfilling God’s purposes and intentions for their life in their generation.

Maybe the best Scripture passage that should stir these Christians can be found in Haggai 1:2-11

“Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.”

This passage shows us that we all have a tremendous responsibility and it is to always put God’s purposes, vision, plans, and House before our own houses and agendas. That leads us to the second way of acquiring dominion – by allowing the Lord to make us – to form us, mold us, produce us, and shape us, so we can become vessels fit for the Master’s use (2 Timothy 2:21).

You see, the Lord is much more concerned about molding us into His image, than He is for our ministries, activities and visions. So, we must allow the Lord to place His image in our lives – spirit, soul, body, socially and financially. Then and then only can we express God’s dominion in the Earth.

How do we do that? By doing Romans 12:1-2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Some people say there are 3 wills of God – good, acceptable, and perfect. Then they can easily say, “Right now, I am not in the perfect will of God, but I am still in His good one”. Not so! This is an excuse for not walking in God’s best.

The Lord does not have 3 wills. He has only one will. God’s will is always good, it’s always acceptable, and it’s always perfect. Jesus said: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21)

The will in this verse, is God’s will – that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

God has a will for all of us. He has a purpose, an intention, an inheritance, a strategy, a plan, a work, a vision, and a destiny. But we can never walk in all this if we still have our old patters of thinking and behavior. We must change. We must renew our mind. We must present our whole life as a living sacrifice, holy, committed and willing to serve the Lord.

Chapter 5

Definitions

A separate chapter on some definitions is needed here, so it can help us in the overall study of the subject of God’s image.

Definition of the Hebrew word for image in the Old Testament, as defined by Strong’s Concordance and Dictionary:

- to shade; a phantom

- (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure,

- An idol (idolatrous figure).

Definition of the Greek word for image in the New Testament, as defined by Strong’s Concordance and Dictionary:

- Likeness, i.e. (lit.) statue, profile

- (fig.) representation, resemblance

Vine’s Dictionary explains that the word “image” involves the two ideas of representation and manifestation, and indirectly, the idea of perfection. God is perfect and we are made in His image. We are His representation on Earth and we must be manifesting His perfect image in our lives to the point we have received it. In this train of thought, the word image carries several shades of meaning:

- While on Earth, Jesus Christ was the visible representation (image) of the invisible God the Father. (“Who (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” – Colossians 1:15, also 2 Corinthians 4:4). Jesus was absolutely the perfect representation of God the Father on Earth. He said: “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;” (John 14:9).

- In the same manner, we are not just meant to be God’s resemblance and likeness, but actually His representation, because His image is in us (Genesis 1:26). As Christ, so we should be a perfect representation and manifestation of God’s and Christ’s image (Romans 8:89) in the area of character, morals, standards, values, words and deeds (Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24)

- Eventually, since perfection is reachable as an eternal process, because it is a work of God’s grace (Grace being defined as: God’s influence upon the heart, and it’s reflection in the whole life), we will all, in our glorified state, be clothed more and more with the fullness of God’s Heavenly image and serve as a bright representation of God’s Glory and Power (1 Corinthians 15:49; Matthew 13:43).

The Webster’s Dictionary defines image as:

1. A representation or similitude of any person or thing, formed of a material substance; as an image wrought out of stone, wood or wax. (Whose is this image and superscription? Matthew 22).

2. A statue.

3. An idol; the representation of any person or thing, that is an object of worship. The second commandment forbids the worship of images.

4. The likeness of any thing on canvas; a picture; a resemblance painted.

5. Any copy, representation or likeness. (The child is the image of its mother.)

6. Semblance; show; appearance.

7. An idea; a representation of any thing to the mind; a conception; a picture drawn by fancy.

8. In rhetoric, a lively description of any thing in discourse, which presents a kind of picture to the mind.

9. In optics, the figure of any object, made by rays of light proceeding from the several points of it. Thus a mirror reflects the image of a person standing before it, as does water in a vessel or stream, when undisturbed.

Image, v.t. To imagine; to copy by the imagination; to form a likeness in the mind by the fancy or recollection.

Interestingly enough, the definition of the word image can be practically found inside our own bodies. We know according to the latest scientific researches, that our bodies consist of approximately 100 trillion cells. We also know that there is a DNA molecule structure that works like a computer software program in each cell, only much more complex. In the DNA is stored all the genetic information needed for our bodies, and much, much more. Actually, according to scientists, even before our hands, legs, and other organs materialize and grow, there is a projected image of them inside our cells, with the exact information how they should grow in every stage of their existence. Isn’t that amazing? No wonder the Psalmist wrote:

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Psalm 139:14

Chapter 10

Global Images

“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” Daniel 2:31-35

King Nebuchadnezzar saw this unique vision in a dream. And as the interpretation shows, it revealed all the global kingdoms that have and are still influencing our world. All these kingdoms represent different images, in that they have their set of spiritual, political, economic and moral patterns which would rule the thinking, behavior and actions of their subjects. Those images (except the last one), are actually world systems, all ruled by demonic principalities, powers and rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12).

Kingdoms represent governments, authorities, ways of ruler ship. There have been many worldly empires and kingdoms that have had world dominion and that have and are still influencing the lives of millions of people. Nobody can deny the enormous influence of the cultural, political, religious, traditional and ideological patterns of Empires like Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, etc., even on our world today. All these have affected the world in a global way and have set the “standard” for others to follow. Those are global images of the devil, that are trying to keep the world in bondage. Yet, we see that …

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Daniel 2:44-45

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15

The Lord’s image will prevail! We must not bow down to the world’s systems and ways of doing things (Romans 12:1-2).

Some time after this interpretation, King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image of himself, representing his mighty kingdom Babylon, meaning confusion. He demanded that everybody bowed down to this image. All did, except 3 brave Hebrews – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

The king could not believe his eyes and ears when he found out about that. He was furious and demanded that the fiery furnace be heated 7 times hotter than usual and he threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire.

The Lord though, sent His Angel and rescued them to the point that they didn’t even smell like smoke when they came out. Whew! The king was completely blown away and recognized the fact that the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is the MOST HIGH GOD and that His image was greater than Babylon’s one (Daniel 3).

What is my point? We are living in a time when there are kingdoms and empires – both spiritual and natural – that are trying to set up their images high above God’s image. They also demand worship from everybody, including believers. There are so many places in our so called “industrialized, hi tech, civilized, 21 century” world, where Christians are persecuted and even killed for their faith.

Yet, if we know the image of God in us and stand strong in those turbulent times, the Lord will rescue us from the fiery furnaces of this world. We may go through them indeed, but the Lord’s Angel will be with us and will preserve us wholly – spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We will not even have the smell of smoke on us and not only that – we will be used by God to be mighty witnesses to these rulers and systems of this world. They will recognize the fact that our God rules and reigns above all.

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Romans 14:11

Chapter 11

How to Acquire God’s Image in Us

The Lord has a pattern in His dealings with His people. It goes like this:

First, the Lord always finds a man (woman). He places His image on the inside of that man or woman. Then He raises them up to the place (point) where they themselves can reproduce that same image of God in them (that has already become their own image) – in others after them – their spiritual sons and daughters, their followers, students, etc. Then these sons and daughters reproduce themselves until we have a whole company of believers, made (molded, formed) into God’s image and that is the Church – the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can see that pattern everywhere in the Scriptures and in every revival and reformation in history. Let’s see it in detail:

First, the Lord always finds “an Abraham” that will be willing to break the old image, formed by the world system – political, economic, religious, occult or whatever it might be. This person becomes the father of a new season for God’s people, because he is willing to let go of the old and receive God’s image instead. Abraham is called: “the father of faith”.

Moses is a very good example too. He brought a whole new season in the life of God’s people, leading them from slavery to freedom – something they had not experienced for more than 400 years. Moses became the initiator of a mighty move of God, in unseen proportions by then and maybe even after that. He is still considered by many non-Christian Jews as the greatest Hebrew person that has ever lived.

We can see the same pattern in Samuel, who became the father of a great multitude of prophetic people, even to this day. He was the initiator and the father of the first School of prophets and prophetic ministers, and thus – the pattern for the prophetic movements that would follow in every generation after him.

We can also see that in Jesus, Who came to bring a New Testament for God’s people.

Apostle Paul became the father to the Gentile believers that the Lord birthed and added to the Church.

Martin Luther became the father of a new reformation that literary raised the Church from the dead, after its Dark Age period of more than 1000 years.

There are so many such examples and I don’t want to take any more space in this book about that, because there are hundreds of books that depict the stories of all the great men and women of God that have shaped our history in every area of existence. All those are fathers, reformers, and pioneers in their spheres of expertise.

Second, all the fathers, reformers and pioneers must reproduce themselves in sons and daughters, followers and students; otherwise the image of God will be lost in the next generation.

“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth” Genesis 5:3

“Be ye followers of me (from Greek – imitators of me), even as I also am of Christ.” 1Corinthians 11:1

See? Adam got his image from God and Adam’s son got his image from his father Adam, who actually represented God’s image. That’s the natural side.

The spiritual is in the second Scripture – Apostle Paul had received the image of Christ in himself to the point that he could say: “I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20). Now he says to his spiritual sons and daughters: “Imitate me”. What an example!

“For though ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.” 1 Corinthians 4:15-16

We can see:

- Abraham reproducing himself in Isaac- Moses reproducing himself in Joshua- Samuel reproducing himself in David- Jesus reproducing himself in the apostles- Apostle Paul reproducing himself in Timothy

Remember Elisha? He was a student of the great prophet Elijah. Elijah reproduced himself in Elisha. Then Elisha had a servant – Gehazi. He was not faithful though. He was meant to be a son that would continue to carry the Spirit of Elijah and Elisha, but instead, he became leprous because of his sin. Now Elisha died with the entire anointing still resident in his dead body. How do I know? Read for yourselves:

“And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.” 2 Kings 13:20-21

I personally don’t know many people that are alive and that have resurrected somebody from the dead. Do You? Yet, there was so much anointing in Elisha’s dead body that when the dead man came in contact with the dead bones of Elisha, he got resurrected from the dead. Elisha didn’t take any part of that resurrecting process; he couldn’t have involved his faith for resurrection because he himself was dead. Can you believe that?

That’s a tragedy though. That spirit and power of Elijah and Elisha should have been carried on and on in every generation so the Lord would not have to promise in Malachi 4:5-6 that He would again sent the spirit of Elijah to turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers. Again, it was meant to be carried in every generation until a great company of believers were manifesting it all over the world, confronting the powers of darkness, doing extraordinary miracles, and preparing the way for the Lord. But it all stopped with Elisha.

Prophet Samuel’s sons were evil and could not continue their father’s image and anointing, just like Gehazi could not continue in Elisha’s ones. Samuel though, found David and poured himself into David, transferring all His grace and anointing as priest and prophet. The Bible says that David, when he was running from Saul, went to Samuel, and spent several years with him, which gave Samuel the opportunity to teach David all about the prophetic anointing, so David later functioned successfully as a king, priest, prophet, musician and psalmist.

Third, Isaac, Abraham’s son, became the father of Jacob and thus starting the nation of Israel through Jacob’s 12 sons.

Joshua, Moses’ son, became the father of a whole new generation that took the Promised Land and established God’s image nationwide and God’s Glory and fame spread internationally – all the nations of the world heard of the great things the Lord had done for Israel and all feared them.

David, Samuel’s son, became the initiator of a totally new way of worship that was so pioneering in its nature, that “pioneering” is a weak word to describe it.

There’s a passage of Scripture I would like to share with You about David. It’s found in Acts 15:13-17“And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things”

You see, the Lord said in other words: “If the residue of men, and all the Gentiles are ever going to seek after Me, that will happen only after I build again and set up the Tabernacle of David”. David did an amazing thing in his time. As you know very well, the Old Testament way of reaching God was through the means of all kinds of animal sacrifices. You just could not approach The God of Israel without a sacrifice in Your hands. And these sacrifices had to be offered in the “Tabernacle of Moses” area, not anywhere else. Anybody who went to approach God without the proper sacrifice, or sacrificed anywhere else than in the tabernacle area, would have received the death punishment. At the time of David, the “Tabernacle of Moses” was still in place in Gibeon, and was still fully functioning with all its sacrifices, etc. Interestingly enough though, the Ark of the Covenant (which was a symbol of God’s presence) was not there, because it was captured by the Philistines. Now here comes David, and takes the Ark of the Covenant, but to the amazement of all, he does not return it to Gibeon, where the Tabernacle of Moses was, but decides to build a new Tabernacle in Zion, Jerusalem, and calls it “The Tabernacle of David”. Then he puts the Ark of the Covenant there. Then he appoints priests, musicians, singers, etc, and commands them to offer God sacrifices, but not animal sacrifices. The Bible says he even made instruments for the musicians, and he commanded them to offer the sacrifices of singing, praise and worship, praying, and playing on the instruments before God. See? He didn’t offer animal sacrifices in his Tabernacle (except on the dedication day), but he appointed courses of musicians (thousands of them), so they can Praise and Worship the Lord God of Israel 24 hours a day. Whew! Whew! Whew! That was so revolutionary! If somebody does that today, it would be a great thing, but please notice that David did it in the Old Testament. The “Tabernacle of Moses” was still there, and priests still functioned there, and offered animal sacrifices for the sins of the people, but David saw much ahead of His time and saw that the Heart of God desired and yearned for something more of His people, and that was their heart Praise and Worship! That’s the symbol of The Tabernacle of David. He lived at least a 1000 years ahead of his time, and he managed to see God’s heart. That’s what the Lord meant in Acts 15, when He said that He wanted to build up again the Tabernacle of David (not the Tabernacle of Moses). That means God’s biggest desire still is His people to seek Him, to Praise and Worship Him, to Adore Him, and to give Him the Glory 24 hours a day. Every breath we take comes from Him, and we must Praise and Worship him for that! Only when we do that with our whole hearts, the residue of men and the Gentiles will turn to God, and say: “We want that Glory as well”.

Again, Psalm 85:9 says that the Lord has saved us, so that His Glory may dwell in our land. That’s the purpose of our salvation on this side of heaven – to spread His Glory. But for us to be able to spread it, we must first experience it ourselves, and that only comes by focusing on His will, purposes and priorities for our lives, and by opening our hearts before Him in Praise, Worship, Adoration, and True Love.

The Apostles, Jesus’ spiritual children, turned the whole world downside up, spreading the Gospel to the entire known to them world then. In just about 300 years, the whole Roman Empire was Christianized, and Christianity became the official state religion.

Timothy and all the other spiritual children of Apostle Paul continued his work among the Gentiles, establishing God’s Kingdom and God’s order everywhere.

Can you now see the pattern clearly? That’s how the image of God is being acquired – from the Father, the reformer, the pioneer, the leader – to his sons and daughters – the first fruits of his labor and then from them to their ones and on it goes. That’s why it’s extremely important the generations to work together hand in hand and to carry God’s image from one generation to the next, until eternity.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” 2 Timothy 2:2

Chapter 16

Summary of Image Progressions

I think it’s very important to summarize the progressive image of God in the different areas of our life, so there be no misunderstandings. Because altogether, there are several types of progression the Lord is moving in, and we should be going from Glory to Glory in each of them, at the same time:

1. Historic Progression. That’s the progression of God’s image in each and every move of God that we examined briefly. The way to progress in this type of God’s image is to examine closely the moves of God, be open to hear the Lord’s voice through His progressive leaders and pioneers, and upgrade in the present truth that the Lord is restoring. A very precious knowledge in this area can be gained from the books of pioneers, leaders and authors like: Peter Wagner, Bill Hamon, John Eckhardt, Jonathan David, and Kevin Conner, to name just a few.

2. Ecclesiastical Progression. That’s the progression of restoring the 5-fold ministries and several other ministries, like the ministry of Praise and worship, prayer and intercession, spiritual warfare, marketplace ministry, so that the Church (From Greek- God’s Ecclesia) can acquire the fullness of God’s image. The way to progress in this image of God is to learn to be a servant to the man or woman of God above you. In other words, learn to walk under authority and accountability. Then, you will receive from the spirit, grace and anointing of your father or leader.

3. Global Economic / Governmental Progression. That’s the progression of the world around us as a whole, according to the images revealed to us predominantly in the books of Daniel and Revelation. Of course, there are many demonic influences as the world is progressing, but also, the Lord is above all, and He is in control, leading the world to a place of consummation of all things and the salvation and restoration of the Earth. The way to progress in this area is to follow closely the events happening in the world, passing them through Biblical perspective. In this way we will always be adequate in the world we are living in, because we can not be effective witnesses to a fast moving world with old mentality and methods.

4. Character Progression. That’s the personal growing in maturity in God’s image for our life, until we become what the Bible calls: “of full age”, so we can enter into our inheritance in every area of our life – spiritually, mentally, emotionally, bodily, socially, politically, economically, etc. The way to progress in this image of God is to always seek and obey the Lord, pray, fast, read the Bible, go to Church and be actively involved in ministry, listen to wise counsel, surround ourselves with positive people, full of faith, moving forward in God, and so many other things that will help our personal growth.

5. Charismatic Progression. That’s the progressive development of the gifts and talents the Lord has placed in our lives. The Lord has deposited creative gifts, abilities, and talents in us, and we are required to produce with them. That’s why; we must grow every investment the Lord has done in us. The way to progress in this image of God is to never be passive, lazy or apathetic. Always use everything the Lord has given you to develop it, increase it, grow it, distribute it, and prosper it. Then, you will be given more.

6. Church Structure Progression. That’s the progression towards the understanding that we all are One Body of Christ, that must be functioning just like a physical body is functioning – each member and each cell contributing to the life of the Body and not staying separated as an inactive part, just going to Church and keeping the chair warm. The way to progress in this image of God is to start understanding the incredible responsibility each and every one of us is having, for the common good of the whole body. The inactive parts of any human body are only the paralyzed parts. May we all be alive, understanding the cell concept!7. Revival, Reformation and Transformation Progression. This image progression shows the process of God’s work in and through us. We must always strive for more of His life, His love, His character, His power, His purification, His circumcising, His order, His commandments, His standards, His values, His righteousness, His holiness and His building Himself in us.

So, in order that we be vessels of honor, fit for the Master’s use, and well equipped for every good work, we must always strive to progress in each of the above image progressions. We must develop each of these image areas in parallel (at the same time). Even when we are reading our Bibles, we must read them in the context of what the Lord is doing in us and our world today, because only in this way we will always be up-to-date, and will not be deceived. Because surely the devil will offer his imitations in each area, but the ones …

“…which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4

Chapter 17

Closing Words

I would like to close this book with a final word of encouragement and challenge. It’s found in one of the most unique passages of Scripture:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:28-39

The Lord has chosen us even before the foundation of this world. He predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son. He called us with a holy calling. He is holding us in His hand and nobody and nothing can take us out of there. He gave us His best and He will sure give us all the rest. If He is for us, who can be against us?

Please don’t allow anybody or anything to separate you from the image the Lord has for you! Don’t allow anybody or anything to discourage you, to tell you that you are worth nothing, to accuse you, to condemn you, to defeat you.

You are born with a purpose. You are no mistake. I feel very strongly in my spirit to tell the people that think they are a mistake – You are not a mistake!

You may be thinking all this, because you may have been born as an unwanted child or whatever other reason, but God wants you. Your father and mother may have made a mistake indeed (according to what they thought in their own plans and purposes), but I want you to know that the Lord does not make mistakes. Life comes from Him and Him alone. He has seen you in His plans and purposes myriads of years ago.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee…” Jeremiah 1:5

He has not only seen you, but also called you to be a carrier of His image. You are an image of His image, a spirit of His Spirit, because in order for you to be born, the Lord had to breathe of Himself in you. So, you are an eternal part of Him. That’s why you are an eternal being as well. Otherwise, you would only be a lifeless body.

So, you are no mistake! You are an extension of God’s image on Earth instead. Will you decide to receive and walk in that image? The choice is yours!

All the other chapters of the book you can actually read in the Article Directories and web sites, such as www.EzineArticles.com; http://SearchWarp.com; www.ArticlesBase.com; www.IdeaMarketers.com; www.Amazines.com; ArticlesFactory.com; and www.SelfGrowth.com. (Search by Author Name)

For ordering an electronic copy of the book, please visit the Jesus Shop for more options. 


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This is a healing book, based on Philippians 3:13. It is a practical revelation the Lord has given me, that has helped me always go forward, with everything I have, no matter what! I believe the book will bless the readers, because the Lord has led me to write it only after experiencing the power of that revelation in my personal life probably more than a thousand times and in a period of more than 14 years of full time active ministry.

Here’s exactly where I believe many people fail – when they experience a set back, a failure, a destruction of some kind, a hurt, a disappointment, etc. – they find it too difficult to forget it and move on – most people stop and wouldn’t continue moving, spiritually speaking. So, that becomes the end of their Christian walk, their spiritual, and sometimes even their physical life. That’s because they don’t know how to deal with those situations and how to find strength to go on, and not just go on, but go on as if nothing has ever affected them.

The Forgetting the things behind book reveals the power of repentance, forgiveness and forgetting in a very practical way, as well as how to receive the daily “bread” from the Holy Spirit. It helps us, after repenting, to:

- forget the sins we have done before we became children of God.

- forget the sins we have committed and the failures we have suffered after we have became children of God.

- forget the things that other people have done to us.

- forget, forgive and deal with marriage and ministry issues.

The book is indeed a very practical handbook for the minister as well as the lay person, for the business person as well as the housewife, for the great and for the lowly, as it reveals how we should apply the Word of God in our daily life, how we should treat people God’s way and how we should always have the winning attitude and strategy.

Please read some of the endorsements for the book, including top Christian leaders like Darlene Zschech – leader of Hillsong worship Australia, Dr. Stephen Gill – Poet, Peace activist, numerous rewards for achievements, and many others:

Darlene Zschech – Darlenezschech.com Leader of Hillsong worship in Hillsong Church Australia and one of the most famous Christian worship leaders ever:

This is not a theoretical book, but a very practical one, showing us the importance of letting go of everything that is trying to prevent us from pressing towards the mark of the high calling of God on our life. As apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13, one thing is needed, which will lead us to the finishing line, and that is to forget (let go) of what is behind us and stretch towards what lies ahead of us. This revelation from the Word of God is wisely presented in the pages of this book. A timely and needed material which will bring healing and provoke us to pursue excellence in our lives and ministries! I highly recommend it! With much love, Darlene

James Anthony Allen – eBlessings.us

Founder and President of eBlessings Non-Profit Corporation, helping children and poor people in more than 60 nations:

I am one who knows one must process one’s past to overcome or one must give it to Jesus because He has already overcome for us. Forgetting the things behind, is a tool which gives one access to biblical information which one can understand so personal spiritual growth can continue. I strongly endorse the work of Nikola Dimitrov and ask you to share this blessing with others. Stay blessed in Christ.

Rick Iles - inter-links.org

European Director, LINKS (Literature In New KontextS)

I believe that this book will help people that are going through hard times to refocus on the Lord and to see that we need to put the past behind us, forgiving those that have wronged us and move ahead with our eyes set on the Lord. Learning to work with one another is always a challenge, but as is written in these pages it is in working with one another that we let go and can grow in the Lord.

Dr. Stephen Gill – Stephengill.ca

Poet, Peace activist, numerous rewards for achievements

Forgetting the things Behind and Stretching for the Ones Ahead is a book that shows the way to the island of beauty. This way is to achieve peace– a goal of humans since time immemorial. This is the way of repentance and forgiveness according to Mr. Nikola Dimitrov, the author of this book.

The author admits that there are obstacles and diversions on this way. He points out some famous personalities of the Bible who overcame them and became unusually productive. They looked ahead and doors of peace and happiness were opened for them. If they could travel this path, any human can also.

Forgetting the things Behind and Stretching for the Ones Ahead is from a Christian point, but it is useful for anyone who wants to open the door to a fuller life. Forgiveness is in the interest of forgivers because it puts their mind to rest and a restful mind can think clearly and clear thinking paves the way for progress and prosperity that God expects from His creation.

The book has been written with convictions and in a language that is easy for everyone to understand. It is useful for every one who wants to make his or her life meaningful and productive. I congratulate Mr. Nikola Dimitrov for producing a book that tells how to achieve the peace that shapes a blessed life under the caring feathers of the Father.

For reading an excerpt from the Forgetting the things behind book, please visit the Saving a Marriage Article Page. For Print or eBook ordering options, please visit the Jesus Shop Page.

For direct print orders, please visit the book at Amazon.com

For direct electronic eBook version, please visit the book at Lulu.com

Search by Title or ISBN (ISBN-10: 1419680560; ISBN-13: 978-1419680564)

Table of Contents for the Forgetting the things behind and Stretching for the ones ahead book:

SALVATION MESSAGE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

How to Continue Our Walk with God

SECTION ONE: Forgetting the Sins We Have Done Before We Repented and Became Children of God

Chapter One - Repentance, Forgiveness and Forgetting

Chapter Two - Abraham

Chapter Three - Apostle Paul

SECTION TWO: Forgetting the Sins We Have Committed and the Failures We Have Suffered After We Have Become Children of God

Chapter Four - King David

Chapter Five - Losing a Loved One

SECTION THREE: Forgetting the Things that Other People Have Done to Us

Chapter Six - Forgiving from the Heart

Chapter Seven - Family Hurts

Chapter Eight - Bigger Family Hurts

SECTION FOUR: How? Chapter Nine - Look Ahead, not Behind

Chapter Ten - Hallelujah!

Chapter Eleven - The Lord’s Prayer

SUMMARY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


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In this Jesus stuff section you will find many interesting things, such as facts, news, links, etc., which I can not categorize in the other sections on the main menu. Please come back regularly, as I will constantly be adding new stuff here. Thanks.

THE LARGEST HANDWRITTEN BIBLE IN THE WORLD

This is a picture of the largest handwritten Bible in the World. It can be found in South Korea and it is absolutely amazing. But even more fascinating is the story of South Koreans’ attitude towards the Bible in general. You will be blessed.

IS THE LORD JESUS MENTIONED IN THE QURAN

Many Muslims claim that they love Jesus, because He was mentioned in their Holy Book – the Quran, as an Islamic Prophet of Allah, just like Mohammed. Is that true? Find out by clicking on the title above.

THE REAL FACE OF JESUS

Of course there were no photographers at the time of Jesus, as well as there are no dicovered drawings of How He looked, so everything in this area is a speculation, but check out what some British scientists came up with.

JESUS OPTICAL ILLUSION

This is an interesting famous “picture” of Jesus which works in the immagination. One must look long enough in the negative-like form on the screen and then close their eyes, and this common Jesus face appears in the mind.

JESUS MYSPACE LAYOUTS

This page provides a link to a very interesting web site, offering free Christian layouts for social network web sites like MySpace, Xanga and the like. Put a special and professional touch to your profiles at these sites.

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How can anyone be a pro-abortionist after watching this: HERE

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Watch this amazing documentary – it is shocking, it is transforming, it is provoking: HERE

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Justin Bieber gets less and less shy about his faith in Jesus Christ. Please pray for this boy and the similar boys and girls in the entertainment industry, who seem to be open to the Lord and His work in their heart and mind: HERE

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With such leaders in high places, no wonder sin is abounding. Killing babies that have already been born? Come on! What can justify that and how can this be different than killing ANY human being? – watch on Life of Jesus Vimeo Video Channel: HERE

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Don’t drive drunk!!! – I hope this video will sober all people trying to excuse or justify drunk driving, even once – watch on Life of Jesus Vimeo Video Channel: HERE

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Miracle of Life – See how miraculously and wonderfully You have been made – watch on Life of Jesus Vimeo Video Channel: HERE

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Darla Weaver – President and Founder of Acts of Grace Ministries, shares her testimony of how she received her healing from sexual abuse turmoil – watch on Life of Jesus Vimeo Video Channel: HERE

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Titanic victim shares Jesus on sinking ship – watch on Life of Jesus Vimeo Video Channel: HERE

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Story of the Nativity – A modern version of the story around the birth of Jesus – very cute: HERE

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Can Muslims be good world citizens? – Hey Muslim people worldwide, please read this and let me know what You think: HERE

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Declan Galbraith – Tell me why – A very deep song, asking questions we should all ask ourselves:Watch HERE

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India’s Got Talent 2010 Winners worship Jesus in front of whole India – Amazing: Watch HERE

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God Bless You! 



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